Of course, the main stage, which was outfitted with an impressive lighting system, lazers, confetti and an intriguing double horse design, was where most people congregated, especially at night, and thankfully, both Saturday and Sunday presented a strong lineup of talent, despite being very different.
Saturday boasted Robin Schulz, Kygo, Empire of the Sun and Porter Robinson as its headliners, offering festival-goers a softer, more melodic night of dance music.
While Robin Schulz and Kygo brought the feel-good tropical house vibes, which were easy to dance to and feel, they both played it pretty safe, presenting standard sets that didn’t really throw too many curveballs. Empire of the Sun, meanwhile, had the most theatrical performance of the festival, but I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t feel a bit out of place (though not more out of place than ILoveMakonnen was on Sunday).
Porter Robinson, however, delivered an emotional and powerful live set, running through his Worlds album along with some of the older tracks that first put him on the map. It was all accompanied by a transfixing visual show on the screen behind him as he live mixed through his impressive catalogue of music and provided his own vocals for a number of the songs. It was by far the day’s best set and while some of the other performances, notably Madeon (who I saw for the first time and was extremely impressed with), Claptone and Maya Jane Coles, among others, stood out to me, it was hard not to be blown away by what Porter did up on the main stage on Saturday.
Sunday night presented an equally impressive lineup of artists and a main stage that closed out in a completely different fashion. Among the highlights on day 2 were the label tent, where Anna Lunoe and Klingande (gotta love that live sax) both threw down two fantastic sets, TJR really getting the party started on the boat, Mija once again proving why she’s one of the hottest up and comers in EDM and Nicole Moudaber’s hardcore techno closing set in the Beatport tent.
Perhaps the best part of the night though was the back to back performances of Dillon Francis and Diplo, whose sets complimented each other perfectly and provided a healthy dose of mayhem, silliness and pure partying.
Dillon delivered what was one of his best sets ever, in this writer’s opinion, and had the crowd completely riled up for the whole hour. Dropping a lot of material from his upcoming moombahton EP, along with music from his recent Money Sucks, Friends Rule album, the DJ was a blast to watch on stage. He even brought out some of his older tracks, like “Without You” and “Masta Blasta,” which the diehard fans in attendance went wild for. The energy he had up on stage permeated through the crowd and it was hands down one of the festival’s best sets.
Oh, and don’t even get us started on when he went one deeper…
Keeping the energy levels at 11 and the crowd in full party mode, Diplo then came out with an arsenal of music that spanned numerous genres and combined for a completely wild and unpredictable hour of music. While some of the people I spoke to felt that it was a bit too all over the place and lacked cohesion, I enjoyed how the superstar producer kept us on our toes throughout, delivering mash-ups, Major Lazer cuts, a lot of trap and of course, some Jack U material to keep the night exciting.
